Lester's anomaly
by cwatker222
Summary: Lester has an American niece with a tortured past. She joins the team to combat the creatures, but her past is a part of her. What happens when it chases her across the sea? Can she rely on the one she loves and the family that wants to save her? What happens when she must chose between the past and her future? Mentions of torture. Steven/Abby Becker/OC? I am back!
1. Chapter 1

James Lester was furious with the report that he had just read and the email. While he had always known that his beloved niece was too damn curious for her own good, this was ridiculous. When his sister had vanished, he allowed his niece to remain with her father, if she learnt self defence and how a gun. But, being repeatedly captured and most recently, buried alive... he was not letting this get any further. He loved his niece like she was his own and she was coming to the UK to live with him. She was 19, but a bloody genius. She could give that Cutter and the Temple boy a run for their money several times over. He could actually so with her on the team. Things would get done faster and she would find out an hour after she got to his place and hacked his computer. Or when she got bored and hacked government agencies. He sighed. He knew his brother, the General, would help him out. He was just lucky that he could arrange for her to be on the team quickly.

Two weeks later, his niece, Aquamarine Amante, was moving to the UK. He smiled as he walked out of his office to where the team had assembled; Stephen Hart, Nick Cutter, Claudia Brown, Captain Tom Ryan, Abigail Maitland and Connor Temple. They were the best people to combat the anomalies; he just worried if they could survive his niece. She was a force of nature.

'Team,' started Lester 'a new member is going to be joining the team. My niece; Aquamarine Amante.'

Ryan chocked on his water.

'The girl who hacked into the SAS computer?' he asked 'and the only one I know of who can beat my aim with a gun?'

'Oh good,' said Lester 'you remember her last visit. She is staying with me permanently as she is too easily bored and then gets into too much trouble' Ryan groaned.

'Did she decide that breaking into a government building for fun was a good idea again?' he asked 'the CIA have just forgiven us for that.'

'That is one I haven't heard before,' said Lester 'this time she got buried alive. Anyway, she is joining you.'

'Wait,' said Hart 'a girl, your niece is joining the team, is a known trouble maker, a dead shot with a gun, a genius and a girl with no respect for the government, is joining the team?'

'Yes,' said Lester 'and she is 19 years old and is a master of several fighting styles.'

'She sounds like fun' said Abby

'If she annoys you, then it's fine with me.' Said Cutter 'but we're not mollycoddling her just because of her age and that she is your niece.'

The next day Aquamarine arrived with the General. Lester had arranged for them to go straight to the Home office and for Aquamarine's things to go straight to the Home Office, they were going to be given a larger space in a month. The General had taken her laptop and banned her from it. To say that Aquamarine was bored was an understatement. She was looking forward to seeing her Uncle James. It had been years since she had seen him. She played with her charm bracelet. Her uncle had given it to her when she was little and every time she impressed or saw him, she got another charm. She had twenty at the moment. The car pulled up in front of a boring looking building. They were escorted to her uncle's office. Inside was Captain Ryan, an older blond man, two younger dark haired men and a young blond woman. She ignored then and walked up to her uncle and hugged him. He smiled as he hugged her back. He then noticed the General had her laptop.

'What did she do this time?' he asked his brother. He laughed.

'She decided that hacking the CIA and locking six other generals out of their computers was a good idea' said the General.

'I was bored,' said Aquamarine 'and the General wouldn't let me go near the shooting range.'

'Does that mean I can beat you now?' asked Captain Ryan

'In your dreams,' she said as she gave the man a smirk.

'Aquamarine,' started her uncle 'this is the Team you will be working with; Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart, Abby Maitland and Connor Temple.' He gestured to each as he said their names. He then reached into his desk and pulled out two boxes. He gave the first one to Aquamarine.

'One for seeing you,' he said 'and another for impressing me and irritating the U.S. government.' He said as he gave over the other box. She smiled and hugged him again.

Afterwards, the General and Lester spoke in private letting the others get to know each other. That is going to be interesting thought Lester.

'So,' said Stephen 'You regularly hack into government computers?' Aquamarine shrugged.

'Its fun watching them try to fix what I did,' said Aquamarine 'Also, those guys kept hitting on me when I last went to a Gala, I needed to take revenge. You see, when they unravel what I did, they will go straight into a series of files filled with evidence that those generals were dealing arms. When I mess with computer systems, I leave little presents. It's why I have diplomatic immunity in 6 countries.' Abby clapped.

'Nice one,' she said 'you will fit I well, plus the women _finally _balance the men' winking at her. She moved her eyes to Connor and back.

'Agreed,' said Jenny 'we are always are outmatched'

'Hang on,' said Connor 'There are four men here.'

'Let me see,' said Aquamarine 'Stephen, Ryan and Cutter... Three men and you' the girls laughed as the other chuckled at Connors expense.

'Wait,' said Connor 'Your younger than me, how can you be considered a women and me not a man.' Ryan, Stephan and Cutter all exchanged glances as Aquamarine winked at Claudia and Abby.

'What defines a woman?' asked Aquamarine. Stephen, Cutter and Ryan exchanged smirks. Connor was still clueless at the trap being laid.

'Well...eh...' said Connor 'a woman is experienced.' She smirked and walked up to Connor

'Experienced, how?' she asked in a seductive voice 'Is a woman a woman is they are experienced sexually? If so, how sexually? In what manner?'

'Ummm...Uhhh...' said Connor. He was totally focused on her voice.

'My last name... Amante' she started 'Do you know what that means? No? It is Italian for Lover, for we of the Amante line are known as the most passionate... women in so many ways. Now tell me,' she leaned towards his ear as whispered 'Am I a woman?'

She pulled back with a smirk and sauntered to Claudia and Abby and high fived them both as the men laughed. Stephen clapped Connor on the back.

'That is why you never question a woman,' said Stephen 'you will end up losing and be made a fool out of.'

'I like you,' said Cutter 'you'll be good on the team. Now, what do you know about what we do?'

'You find anomalies, contain creature incursions and generally play Jurassic Park, but with better clothes and toys and everything is top secret. I found out about it an hour after the first incursion. I monitor Uncle's computer.'

'Isn't that interesting,' said Lester's voice behind her 'that my favourite niece spies on her uncle's. Though I don't know why I'm surprised. Anyway, there has been a reported creature sighting at a swimming pool. Life guard gone missing and his girlfriend says he was swallowed hole and Aqua, the minister wished to have dinner with both of us tomorrow, so I will regretfully give you this.' He handed over his credit card. She took it gleefully. She loved shopping on her uncle dollar.

They headed to the pool. In the Car, Aquamarine turned to Claudia and Abby.

'Want to help me spend Uncle's money?' she asked with a wicked smile. The girls all laugh.

Meanwhile, in the guy's car...

'She's a spitfire all right,' said Cutter 'best of all; she seems to enjoy pissing off the government. How long have you known her Captain?'

'8 years' he said 'I was teaching her to shoot. Later she got a hold of a tranq gun, filled it with a hallucinogenic and shot the President of France with it. When she was brought before the President, she pouted innocently and gained diplomatic immunity.' The guys all laughed,

'Do you think she likes me?' asked Connor. All laughed. 'What? She was all flirty with me; I think I stand a chance.'

'Connor, mate, and 'said Cutter'she was making a point, not hitting on you and she is Lester's niece and a General's niece. She is most likely an heiress as well, so you have no chance with her unless you want to deal with Lester.'

The situation at the pool was confusing at best. There were signs that something had been there, due to the fact there was sea water in the pool, but no anomaly. Stephen got a wet suit on and jumped into the pool to explore it. There was marked tension between Stephen and Abby. It amused Aquamarine to no end. She walked up to Claudia.

'So,' she started 'what's going on between Stephen and Abby?' Claudia laughed.

'Question of the century,' said Claudia 'apparently, when Stephen was bitten by a poisonous bug, he asked Abby out. When he woke, he didn't remember and it turns out that he already had a girlfriend.'

'We will just have to fix that won't we?' said Aquamarine 'Since, I am still not allowed on a laptop; I may as well interfere and help things along.'

'We are so going to get along,' laughed Claudia. They linked arms and walked towards the pool edge.

'Bright side to this job,' said Aquamarine 'We get to see wet half naked men.' They laughed once again.

'That is a perk,' said Claudia.

They then got news that the lifeguards remains had been found n a reservoir 20 mile way. They reconvened at White Hall to discuss the latest development. The girlfriend had been arrested for killing the lifeguard and an argument broke out about whether or not it was the same anomaly.

'Uncle,' started Aquamarine in a sweet voice 'May I have my laptop back yet? I need to buy things on your credit card that will possibly help.' Lester sighed and handed over the Laptop, continuing his argument with Cutter.

Aquamarine bought her things and they all went to the reservoir. It was then that they lost a diver, when Abby and Connor were attacked and when the anomaly closed and reopened in a basement. When Nick went through the anomaly and when his wife was forced through it to be taken to be interrogated. It was something that caused a lot of tension for the team and Aquamarine's Uncle and put her in an awkward position. Here Aquamarine was, in a strange country, in a high stress job, new to the team and already needing to choose between her Uncle, who was more of a father to her than her own father, and the team she had to trust with her life. She sighed. She came to England to escape her old life. Her Uncle didn't know the half of what she had done, most of it was things she never wanted to remember, but visited constantly in her dreams. It was for that reason that she was glad her Uncle had gotten her an apartment close by and in the same building as her Uncle. She needed her Uncle, his unconditional love and acceptance. She would tell him what had happened to her one day. The position she was in was an uneasy one, but she had little choice in the matter. Her packages would be arriving in a week, and then she could have some fun and have something to focus on.

After work, Jenny and Aquamarine went shopping for the dinner with the Prime minister. Claudia started to notice some scars around Aquamarines wrists and a few more across her hands. They had fun shopping for clothes and accessories on Lester's tab. They ended up agreeing to have dinner at a local restaurant. It was there that Claudia decided to ask about the scars.

'Aquamarine,' started Claudia.

'Please,' interrupted Aquamarine 'call me Aqua, Aquamarine is such a mouthful.' Claudia smiled.

'Aqua,' started Claudia again 'I noticed, while we were shopping, that you have scars on your wrists and hands, and I was wondering how you got them?' A man dressed in black behind them, sitting with a few mates perked up, as did the rest of his table. He had Captain Ryan sitting with them.

'Long story,' started Aquamarine 'I snooped where I shouldn't have and got caught, short story; Torture.' The table stiffened, Ryan especially. He had known Aquamarine for a long time, thought of her as a sister, and he had failed to protect her.

'You were... tortured?' asked Claudia 'I knew you were captured and buried alive, but I never thought... why?'

'The US asked a favour,' she said 'the favour had consequences. One of the reasons I was so eager to get out of the country. If you don't mind, I would rather we discuss something a lot lighter; Abby's and Stephen's flirtation for instance.' Claudia laughed slightly.

'Yes,' said Claudia 'both want the other, neither want to admit it and then there is the complication of Connor...'

Meanwhile, at Ryan's table...

'My sister was tortured?' said Ryan 'I swore to protect her, and I failed.' One of the others patted him on the back.

'What the hell did she get into in America!' said the man dressed in black 'What would result in that! We at least know there is a possibility, she obviously didn't and the US failed at protecting her.'

'Becker,' said Ryan to the man in black 'She is an expert hacker, holds 2 PHD's and another 2 degree's, an expert marksman, master of seven martial arts, I'm more concerned with how they got at her in the first place. She always has at ver least a knife on her at all times. To get her, they needed to know her.' The others nodded.

'You going to tell her Uncle?' asked a man dressed in tan.

'I won't just yet,' said Ryan 'I need to know how it is going to affect her before I tell her Uncle. She would have insured that the torture was not in any files the US sent over.'

'She's brave,' said Becker 'determined and hiding this will break her. She needs someone to confide in. We've all seen what happens when soldiers pretend this sort of thing is nothing.'

'Mind if she joins our sparring sessions?' asked Ryan 'She needs decent partners and she may well open up a bit more. Sparing is all about trust after all.' The other men nodded. 'Just don't piss her off, she can hack absolutely everything and anything.' The men laughed. 'I will call her and invite her for tomorrow morning's session.' The other's nodded once more.


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Ryan called Aquamarine about the sparring sessions. She agreed, just as Ryan thought she would. He knew her better than either of them were willing to admit, and knew that she needed to do this. She needed a way to vent her anger and frustration, until she was ready to face what happened and move forward. She needed to get angry and cry about what had happened to her. She needed to talk to someone about what had happened. He was also curious as to what would happen with Aquamarine and Becker. They were a lot alike and they would either love or hate each other. He was hoping for something in between.

Aquamarine was at the Gym slightly late the next day. There were dark circles under her hazel eyes and her waist length dark hair was in a simple braid. Ryan instantly swept her into a huge hug. She was his sister and he wasn't dealing with the fact that she had been tortured well. He needed her to be safe and that wasn't going to fit well with her current job. He quickly led her to where the others were waiting.

'Aqua,' started Ryan 'this is Becker, he won't tell us his first name' the dark one shook her hand 'and this John Whitehall' the lighter one shook her hand. 'Guys, this is Aquamarine Amante, Otherwise known as girl-who-has-overprotective-Uncle's-who-forced-her-to-learn-at-least-5-martial-arts.' Aquamarine laughed, as did the guys.

'They weren't that bad,' said Aquamarine 'they just have important jobs and want me to be able to protect myself, in case I'm targeted for my relation to them.'

'And they were right to,' said Ryan 'after all, I was assigned to protect you 8 years ago after you were targeted and that was when I taught you to shoot.' Aquamarine blushed. 'Right, Becker, you partner with Whitehall, I will partner with Aqua.'

Aquamarine and Ryan took their places opposite each other. Ryan knew that he would have to be careful, without knowing the true extent of what Aquamarine had gone through, he had no way of knowing if she would be prone to flash backs and loss of control. It all depended of the kind of torture she was exposed to as how she reacted. They would then know how severe it was by how badly she reacted. It was a risk to their safety, but, no matter how well trained Aquamarine was, she was not up to fighting 3 well trained, experienced SAS men. They were stronger than her and so would be able to restrain her if necessary. They just hoped it wouldn't be necessary.

The fight started simply enough; a series of attacks and blocks, a few kicks. Then the tempo increased and Ryan was on the defensive more than the offensive. The hits came harder and faster than usual. A single tear rolled down Aquamarines cheek. Becker and Whitehall had stopped sparring and was watching the fight with great interest. Becker was a firm believer that you could tell a lot about a person by watching them fight. What he saw by Aquamarine was pain, desperation, panic and fear. It was tightly controlled, but it was there and it was getting worse by the second. He could see the increase in panic and prepared himself to intervene. Half an hour later, Aquamarine seemed to shut down and attack as if Ryan was an enemy. That was what they had feared would happen. They needed to stop her and fast or the consequences were not something to be taken lightly. Becker saw her go for a roundhouse kick and took his chance. He grabbed her from behind, restraining her arm. As she struggled, Becker nodded for Ryan to get his injuries looked at as he started to whisper calming words in Aquamarines ear. Soon the shut down turned to hysteria and tears. Becker just moved her in his arms so she sat side ways on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her and she clutched at one as she cried. Becker gently rocked her. Whitehall and Ryan left quietly. They could tell that it would be Becker that got through to her. There was something in their dynamic that showed a connection between them.

Eventually, Aquamarine stopped crying and just sat quietly in Becker's embrace. She felt... safe in his arms. Something that was extremely rare. The safest she had ever felt was with her Uncle's or Ryan. But, with Becker, she had never felt safer. It was weird as she generally hated to be touched and he was a virtual stranger. She eventually pulled out of his embrace and felt cold and empty.

'You need to talk to someone,' said Becker 'or it will just get worse.'

'I don't know what you're talking about' said Aquamarine.

'We both know that is a lie,' said Becker 'People don't flip out like that for nothing. It is a classic sign of PTSD, something I see a lot of in the SAS. You don't have to say what happened, but you need to deal with how it made you feel.'

'No,' said Aquamarine as she stood 'I am Aquamarine Amante, I have no time for therapy, I have no patience for someone to tell me how it feels when it never happened to them. I am a General's niece and Lester's niece and am strong enough not to lose control.'

'Then what the Hell just happened!' Said Becker 'because people don't break down in vitual strangers arms for nothing. They don't shut down and fight to kill in a sparring match for nothing!'

'A momentary lapse that won't repeat itself' said Aquamarine 'An Amante can lapse once in a while.'

'The next time that happens you could kill someone.' Said Becker 'an innocent civilian or someone not as well trained. Then it will be your fault for letting it happen. For letting whoever hurt you break you.'

'They never broke me!' said Aquamarine 'No matter what they did to me, I never told them anything!'

'By allowing their actions to corrupt your reaction,' started Becker 'you are allowing them to win.' He gently touched her upper arms. He felt electricity spark in their touch, but ignored it. What was important was that she understood her reactions could hurt someone.

'I refuse to let them win,' said Aquamarine 'which is why I am fine! One slip! That's it! One slip and you're calling me dangerous.'

'Because you are!' said Becker 'I've seen this time and time again. You need to face the facts or risk hurting everyone.'

'They stared at each other, neither willing to sacrifice the higher ground. A phone rang loud and clear. Aquamarine broke eye contact to answer it. It was Cutter, apparently his wife wanted to talk to her for some reason.

'I have to go,' said Aquamarine 'work.'

'When you have decided to face facts,' said Becker 'and get help, Ryan knows how to get a hold of me. You don't have to talk to a shrink, but I can help you.' Aquamarine nodded and left.


	3. Chapter 3

Aquamarine went home, showered and changed before going to work. She knew deep down that Becker was right. That incident was a mistake and one that could repeat itself. She ignored her car that her uncle had gotten her and climbed onto her black motorbike. Her uncle's hated it, she loved it. It was a beautiful bike and gave her a reason to dress in black leather. She sped towards the place they were holding Helen Cutter. Why would she want to speak to her? How did she know who she was? She may have seen her yesterday, bur how did she know who she was? Aquamarine didn't get a good look at he, all she knew was what the others had told her about Helen. She personally thought that she was self-fish for leaving Cutter for 8 years to explore the past. As she entered her Uncle's office, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu as she looked at Helen's image. She was strangely familiar, but Aquamarine didn't know how. Her uncle looked at her in disapproval.

'Please tell me you that you didn't ride that death trap you call transportation?' asked Lester

'It's just a Motor bike,' she said 'and perfectly safe as long as I wear my leathers.'

'They cause most of the accidents in Britain.' Said Lester

'Drop it,' said Aquamarine 'now, you say Helen Cutter wishes to see me?'

'Yes,' said Lester 'though how she knows who you are is a mystery.'

'A mystery solved when I speak to her' said Aquamarine.

As Lester led Aquamarine to Helen's containment room, she realised that she could not take off her jacket. In her haste to get ready, she had put of a leather waistcoat that stopped three inches above her navel. There was not much back and it had a deep neckline. It was what she had usually worn with her biking leathers, but now... it exposed most of her scars and some o the most horrific scars at that. If she took her jacket off, her secrets would be exposed. That would be an interesting revelation and she would become an object of pity, anger, horror and sorrow. Aquamarine was a proud and independent person; she would not be able to handle everyone's reaction. They entered a large dark room with a table and two chairs. There was an observation window with Nick and Tom staring through the glass. Helen sat in one of the chairs at the table. She had short brown hair with dark eyes. Aquamarine checked that her jacket was zipped up and sat opposite the woman. She looked strangely familiar, as if from a long forgotten dream.

'Aquamarine Amira Amante,' started Helen 'you have grown up from the last time that I saw you. You were such a beautiful baby. So cheerful and beautiful. I have always regretted giving you up, but I couldn't have a child with me while I travelled the anomalies. I left you 11 years in the past eight years ago, with your mother and father.'

Aquamarine was silent. That she knew her middle name was some proof of her claim and Aquamarine had always known that she was adopted.

'You decided to leave me with stranger's instead of my father?' she said. Helen smiled slyly.

'Well,' started Helen 'you would not pass for Nick's daughter and your father was too busy with school.'

Aha! Thought Aquamarine, she just wanted to cause trouble in the team. The reveal of an affair would do that and she would become a test subject to learn how being a child of time affected her. Helen Cutter was very cunning, but Aquamarine had another problem. The room was very warm to be wearing so much leather. She was beginning to sweat.

'What can you tell me about the anomalies?' asked Aquamarine. She knew her uncle was probably freaking out in a calm collected way. Helen smirked.

'You don't believe me do you?' she said 'What if I could prove it? Between your shoulder blades is a very unique birthmark. It is like a black tattoo of Celtic knot work and wings with a single flower in the centre. Very beautiful with the rune for fate just below it. It should still be there, your adoptive parents tried to have it removed and failed, even with skin grafts if I remember right, it burned through the skin again in a white light so similar to the anomalies, a result of travelling through man while I was pregnant no doubt.'

'The mark is still there,' said Aquamarine 'Many have tried to ruin it and failed. You are right to say it is beautiful, but when someone tries to touch it, I experience a great deal of pain.'

'You are a new breed of humanity Aquamarine,' said Helen 'no one will be able to give you the answers you seek about it. May I see it again?' Aquamarines eyes widened.

'No,' said Aquamarine shakily 'It is not something I like showing. Habit from childhood and teachers seeing it and worrying if I was forced to get a tattoo.'

'You are not a child anymore,' said Helen deviously 'and since you refuse your mother the right to see the mark, it will be your fault when twenty hungry sabre-toothed tigers tear through central London.'

Uncle Lester hit a button that allowed him to be heard in the room.

'Show her your birth mark' he said

'But, Uncle...' started Aquamarine, panic making her slightly hysterical.

'Do it Aqua!' he said, the in a kinder voice 'it could save countless lives.'

Aquamarine sighed and nodded she stood shakily. He hands shook as they went to her zipper. There they froze. Everyone would see, she thought, and everyone would know. But she had to do this. If she didn't others would die and it would be all her fault. She turned to one side so that no one would be able to see the scars until she completely took her jacket off. She carefully unzipped her jacket and grabbed each side of it at the collar bone. Slowly, she pulled her jacket off and turned to allow Helen to see what she had bartered for. She heard a gasp of shock at looked up at her uncle who stared at her in shock, horror and anger. She knew that her back was worse with all the scars skirting around the mark.


	4. Chapter 4

Aquamarine turned slowly, to face the women claiming to be her birth mother. She saw shock and...a_we _on her face. That was confusing_._

'Your mark has expanded across your shoulders and down your spine,' she said 'you are almost ready. Your scars... almost look as if you were tortured, but your father wouldn't allow that.'

'Interestingly enough,' said Aquamarine 'He suggested I do something for the U.S. and after I was tortured, told me to stop whining about it. Nice job on choosing adoptive parent Helen.' She could see her Uncle flinch from her peripheral. 'Well, this has been nice, you tell my your my mother, I confirm a birth mark, you say I'm not human, you bargain to see the mark, you say it's expanded and find out I was tortured, say my father wouldn't allow it and I tell you he's not all he's cracked up to be. Nice family reunion. Now, where is the Anomaly?' she pulled her jacket back on.

'Feisty,' commented Helen 'if slightly sarcastic. I will tell you where the Anomaly is...'

As soon as Aquamarine left the room, her uncle dragged her into his office. He was not happy.

'This is not how I would want to find out that my niece was tortured!' he exclaimed 'I would rather that information was in your file or that you told me!' Tears rolled down Aquamarines face.

'I wanted to forget,' she whispered 'to pretend that it never happened. I was afraid that I would be pitied and that you would be disappointed in me.' Lester sighed and hugged his niece in a rare display of affection, sighing when she stiffened.

'I only want to protect you,' he said, pulling back, cupping her face with his hands and wiping her tears away with his thumbs and kissed her forehead. 'You are my family, blood or no. If you had told me, I would have helped you get away from your father, I would have protected you. I love you my niece and I swore to your mother that I would protect you. Since I am too late, I will give you this piece of advice; don't hide your scars, o matter the looks you will get. Be proud that you survived not ashamed, because those that did this to you would have won. Know that I am always here for you no matter what. Now, I believe that you have an anomaly to get to.'

Aquamarine smiled through tears and left to find Cutter waiting for her. Aquamarine immediately felt awkward. After all, she was proof of his wife's infidelity. He smiled at her apprehension.

'Will you be alright to do this?' he asked. Aquamarine nodded. He smiled. 'It was Helen that cheated on me, I don't blame you, in fact I think you might be hurting as much as me at this moment. After we deal with this Anomaly, we will talk. I am your stepfather after all.' That made Aquamarine laugh.

Cutter called Stephen to get Abby and Connor while he, Aquamarine, Captain Ryan, Helen and a troop of guards all left for the stadium that was said to hide an Anomaly in its kitchens. Aquamarine stayed closer to Ryan than she had in years, as if she felt vulnerable near her mother. Stephen, Abby and Connor arrived soon after and together they opened the freezer. Helen made an escape attempt and succeeded after several Dodoes' escaped through the Anomaly. Aquamarine didn't see the chaos surrounding her, hear the cries for help. She stood, entranced in front of the Anomaly. She heard its song. Peaceful and threatening at the same time. She saw the beauty of the glowing appearance of shattered mirrors surrounding a sun. It called to her. Commanded her. Even as the Dodos' were being caught, it whispered to her in its song. She slowly unzipped her jacket. Why was she wearing one? Her mark needed to be free if she was to be free. She pulled the jacket off, unaware of everyone watching her. Unaware of how they watched her mark darken further, get shaded in some areas. She lifted her hand to touch the mesmerising object in front of her, when arms grabbed her from the waist to pull her back and the freezer doors being slammed shut. Instantly Aquamarine fought the person holding her. It reminded her of her time as a prisoner. She calmed down as Ryan crouched next to her, whispering calming words in her ear. Eventually she was completely still and as tears rolled down her cheeks, Ryan took her into his arms until she stopped crying. She slowly pulled away from her pseudo-brother and stood. She walked to her jacket, picked it up and pulled it back on. Cutter approached her. She flinched back as he reached out to touch her.

'Aqua,' he said gently 'what happened with you and the Anomaly?'

'It...it called to me,' she said 'everything sought of... faded apart from the Anomaly. It was beautiful and its song was so serene and yet dangerous. It spoke to me. Not in words but with the song.'

'Did you feel your mark burn or anything?' he asked. She shook her head. He sighed.

'You seem to have a connection with the Anomaly,' he started 'it's through your mark, which expanded as you stared into the Anomaly. It's probably due to travel through them from when your mother was pregnant with you, they became part of you.'

After, they decided to push the dodos back through the Anomaly. Aquamarine was sat with her back to it, unable to look at the Anomaly without its call. She could still hear it with her back to it, but it was less seductive. Less entrancing. Instead f watching the Anomaly, she watched the obvious chemistry between Stephen and Abby, made slightly awkward with Connor thrown in the mix. It amused her to see them like this and she began to formulate a plan to get the two of them together. There was something real between Abby and Stephen that deserved to happen if only for her entertainment.


	5. Chapter 5

When one of the flightless birds died, the team headed back to headquarters for autopsy. The car ride was silent and tense. The team who were not in the know wanted to know where Aquamarines scars came from. Why she had that reaction to an anomaly? What the hell was up with that tattoo on her back? Why she reacted that way to being grabbed from behind? What was going on between her and Ryan? Why was Cutter acting differently to a new member of the team? Was she even going to stay part of the team with her reaction to the Anomaly?

Unsurprisingly, it was Connor, with his lack of tact, which broke the heavy silence.

'So,' he started 'what's up with those scars and tattoo Aqua?'

Stephen was sitting on one side of him and Nick on the other. The two exchanged a look, nodded and slapped Connor round the head one after the other.

'OW, Hey,' he said 'I was just asking what everyone else was thinking.' That earned him another slap around the head.

'I don't want to talk about it.' Said Aquamarine

'We have a right to know if you're affected by the Anomalies and if you are then why? I mean, the scientific application of the connection could be astronomical.' Stephen slapped him round the head.

'Connor,' said Ryan, gritting his teeth 'Shut up before I shoot you.'

'No, I won't 'said Connor 'How is no one else see's the importance of this? Aqua could be a missing link, a way to study the Anomalies and tracking them without having to wait around. There are all sorts of tests that we should be running.'

'Connor,' said Aquamarine lowly and threateningly, Ryan, Stephen and Cutter all flinched at her tone 'Shut the hell up before I make use of my numerous diplomatic immunities and then make use of my hacking skills to destroy your life.'

Silence once again filled the car. This time there was a great deal of anger and disappointment directed towards Connor. The rest of the journey finished quickly. Once they were at headquarters, Aquamarine and Cutter went straight to Lester. What Connor had said in the car had really upset her and she needed her Uncle. When she entered his office, she went straight to his embrace.

'What happened?' asked Lester, holding his niece.

'When she saw the Anomaly,' said Cutter 'she could hear it. It was like she was in a trance. She took off her jacket and her mark changed. Everyone saw it and her scars. Connor, the insensitive idiot, started talking about experimenting of Aqua to see if there was a way to control the Anomalies through her. He started questioning her scars as well. Ryan threatened to shoot him if he didn't shut up.' Lester held his niece tighter now that he understood where her fear came from. She just didn't want to be put in a situation where she was hurt and not in control again.

'I would never allow that to happen,' he whispered to his niece. She nodded and stepped out of his embrace. 'What about the Anomaly?'

'Faked,' said Helen 'instead of Sabre-teeth, we got Dodo's. We're planning on autopsying a dead one. Helen escaped into the Anomaly.'

The day was a hectic one. The Dodo's being infected with parasites and then having to track down Connor's friend, who was infected and kidnapped Abby. As Aquamarine stood in that stadium, watching Connor's friend die, she heard the voice of the wind whispering the son of the anomaly. She closed her eyes and breathed. The song changed as she felt burning on her back. The Anomalies were calling her. She understood now what they had tried to tell her earlier. She wasn't purely human. She was part of the Anomalies as well. They spoke to her because she was an Anomaly through time. A child displaced in time. She had never felt as at peace as she did staring into the Anomaly. Well, that wasn't quite true. She felt at peace in Becker's arms as well. Her mother had already said that she was not the average person, that the Anomalies had changed her. Maybe she no longer belonged in this time. She opened her eyes and everything had changed. Her eyes could now see a kind of aura around people that changed colour. She saw that Stephen an Abby's aura matched, no matter what they felt, the colours always corresponded. She saw Connor's friend's aura fade. But even though her vision had changed, she could still hear the faint song of the Anomalies.

When Aquamarine went home that night, she had already made a decision. She would go through an Anomaly. She needed to find out why the Anomalies felt like home. Why they could relax her when nothing else could. What Connor said earlier in the car came back to her? She did not want to be a lab experiment. Aquamarine longed for freedom. It was all she had ever wanted. Her doorbell rang. She frowned. None of the team knew where she lived yet, so who was at her door? She opened her door to reveal Becker. She opened her door wider to let him in. How did he find out where she lived? And what was he doing here?

'Aqua,' he started, staring at her. She realised that her jacket was off and he could see her scars. She looked down and away. He reached out a hand to cup her chin and made her face him.

'Don't be ashamed.' He said 'Capt. Ryan called, said you had another panic attack?' Aquamarine nodded. He sighed and hugged her. 'You need to work through this, you can't do it alone.'

'What else can I do?' she asked 'I am meant to be strong, to be untouchable. To be the best. If I go to anyone for help, they will be disappointed in me.' She was crying now. Becker hugged her harder.

'I will help you,' he said 'you will get through this and come out better for it. I will be there for you every step of the way.' Aquamarine pulled back slightly to look at him.

'You will?' she asked so timidly that it broke Becker's heart. He stroked her hair.

'I will.' He said 'I will be here for you when you want to talk about it, when you have panic attacks, everything. You will not be alone.' He kissed her forehead.

'Can you stay tonight?' she asked 'to help me with the nightmares?' he nodded.


	6. Chapter 6

The night spent with Becker was the calmest she had had for a very long time. Sure, Becker had to wake her several times due to nightmares, but he was always able to get her to go back to sleep again. He had started out on the couch, but after the second time, he just stayed on top of the duvet with her. She felt safe with him, something that she had never thought she would feel again. As she lay in bed, she started to think. She could not become reliant on him, she knew that. But she wanted to, oh how she longed to feel safe again. Becker started to stir as she left the bed in favour of making some coffee.

Becker woke to the heavenly smell of Coffee. He was a soldier. Coffee was essential to do the job. He could hear Aquamarine in the kitchen. He sighed. What he wouldn't give to kill those bastards that had hurt her, leaving her with permanent marks for her to believe she should be ashamed of. He rubbed his face as he thought about the previous night;

_He awoke with a start in a strange living room. He sat up quickly when he heard muffled crying. He listened carefully as he realised he was in Aquamarines apartment and as he processed this her heard her shout out 'NO!' repeatedly. He ran into her bedroom and opened the door to see her thrashing and crying. It broke his heart as he watched the fear on her face. He walked slowly to the bed and started to stroke her hair. Slowly her cries subsided and she woke. When she saw him at her side, she rolled over in shame to hide her tears. He sighed and gently rolled her back and held her as she cried. He gently rocked her to sleep again. He wouldn't push her to tell him about the nightmares. She would tell him on her own._

Becker stayed round Aquamarine's as often as he could and gave her his number so that she could call him whenever she had a panic attack. His leave wasn't going to be up for another month and for some reason, he felt a connection with the teen and wanted to help and protect her.

**AN: I am back! Just a short taster to emphasise the part Becker will play I the future and I am planning one hell of a twist with this character**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: on hold until after my exams.**


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